Democrats Line Up Behind Smoot-Hawley II

There was an extraordinary development in Congress this week that got little attention. More than 100 Democrats have signed on as original cosponsors to legislation that could well start a major trade war. The bill effectively blocks all future U.S. trade negotiations, and could lead to retaliation by many of our major trading partners. And while it’s tempting to say that Barack Obama would not sign a trade bill that will ultimately be so costly and damaging to U.S. interests, the track record so far says he very well might.